DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Sean Donovan tells his seventh-grade boys’ basketball team to work hard. If the kids don’t, they run.

Even though the Corona del Mar Middle School team is 4-0, Donovan, a senior at CdM High, continues to tell them to work hard, pushing them.

If the young boys need an example, they can look to their coach. He shows that the all-out efforts pay off.

Last year, Donovan was a different player — not one he is proud of — before becoming the Sea Kings’ leading scorer this year. As a junior, Donovan averaged just 5.9 points per game, finishing with 171 points. This year, the new-and-improved Donovan averages 20.9 points per game and has scored 356 points this season for CdM (9-8, 2-0 in the Pacific Coast League), which is on a five-game winning streak.

How did he do it? He says he worked hard.

Along the way, he overcame some adversity, too.

Two years ago, soon after the Sea Kings won the CIF Southern Section Division III-A championship, Donovan tore a ligament in his left thumb while playing club basketball during the spring. He was out for about four months. Less than a week after he returned, he tore the same ligament and was out another five months.

During that time, he didn’t do much of anything, except for gaining weight. The only thing he lost was confidence.

“I came into my junior season not confident, overweight, unmotivated and I wasn’t where I needed to be,” said Donovan, a 6-foot-4 guard. “It was a very hard junior year for me. There were times I just didn’t know what was going on. After the season, I started playing with Harry Wilson with [California Basketball Club]. From the spring to the fall I was in there every single day, lifting, conditioning and getting my confidence back up. So then coming into the fall I went from 215 pounds to 195. I had a ton of confidence and I was finally ready to step into the leadership role that I needed to step into for this year’s squad, for us to go where we needed to go.”

The Sea Kings are going for their third straight PCL title and second consecutive outright league championship. Their biggest test comes tonight at 7 at University.

Donovan wants CdM to stay undefeated in league, just like his team of seventh-graders, who are perfect so far this year. He pushed the right buttons Thursday as he coached his team to a 32-20 win over Sowers.

He’s coaching the team for his senior project. Who knew school work could be so much fun?

“I really like it,” Donovan said. “The hours are tough, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Donovan usually conducts practice three days a week, with two games each week. If they play well on a Thursday game, there probably won’t be any practice on Friday.

He said they won’t be practicing today. That just gives Donovan more time to prepare for the Trojans.

He’ll try to keep in mind the lessons he learns from coaching.

After working with his players, he’s picked up on different players’ tendencies. That also goes for opposing players. He realizes what they like to do and when they get down on themselves.

He’s also gained a healthy amount of patience, dealing with the different personalities of seventh-graders. He said he’s gained a lot more respect for coaches. But he pictures someday becoming a part of that fraternity.

“When my playing days are done,” he said. “I’ll have to be involved with basketball somehow and I’d love to coach somewhere down the road.”

For now, he’s mainly concentrating on leading the Sea Kings to a PCL title and a deep run in the CIF playoffs. Last year, he wasn’t really thinking about those goals. He was only concerned with his weight and the lack of confidence he had.

“I used to scream about him being too passive and not shooting the ball,” CdM Coach Ryan Schachter said.

Donovan definitely heard the words. They were probably still ringing in his ear during the off-season before his senior year.

It helped that Donovan loves the game, but playing basketball just about every day helped him come out of his shell.

“I used to have tons of hesitation and tons of nervousness when I would look at the other team before a game,” Donovan said. “Now I come in, I feel like I have already done everything before and I’m just doing it over again. I come into games extremely confident, even against the very good teams. I feel I’ve gotten to the point that I can play with anyone.

“It’s an 180-degree turnaround.”

He’s shown it during the season, especially during the five-game winning streak. He scored a season-high 37 points in a 59-54 win over Estancia Jan. 3. Last week, he dropped 33 at Laguna Hills in the Sea Kings’ PCL-opening 66-55 victory.

When he was being double-teamed and closely guarded in a 52-45 win at Esperanza Jan. 7, he delivered six assists to go with his 11 points.

“He’s coming into his own understanding of what he should be,” Schachter said. “Every practice and every game, he’s holding himself to a certain accountability. Before he kind of thought too much ... He’s a heck of a talent, always has been. It’s between the ears now and him getting that epiphany of what he is able to provide.”